Posted by JLx on October 26, 2003, at 19:25:33
In reply to Re: magnesium and neurontin » slinky, posted by Dinah on October 24, 2003, at 21:10:31
Carlson's brand of magnesium glycinate, which is supposed to be a better-absorbable form of magnesium, is good. The lowest price I've seen is at The Vitamin Shoppe.
George Eby, on his site, "Rapid Recovery From Depression Using Magnesium Treatment", http://www.coldcure.com/html/dep.html is recommending the Cardiovascular Research brand of magnesium taurate these days instead of magnesium glycinate.
He says,
"The following magnesium compounds have sufficiently low stability that they offer very high absorption and are well tolerated.
Magnesium acetate, chloride, citrate, gluconate, glycinate, lactate, malate, succinate, sulfate, tartrate and taurate are all very good, ionizable sources of magnesium. Intravenously, hospitals give magnesium sulfate. Magnesium chloride would be best, but it is very hygroscopic and difficult to properly package. On the other hand, magnesium oxide, magnesium hydroxide and magnesium carbonate are totally useless because they are too tightly bound together for the stomach acid to dissociate into ionic form. ... ON A PRECAUTIONARY NOTE, two amino acid chelates of magnesium (magnesium aspartate, magnesium glutamate) MUST be avoided in treating depression. Each of these amino acid complexes of magnesium has been reported to worsen depression. Aspartate and glutamate act as neurotransmitters in the brain and retina by facilitating the transmission of from neuron to neuron. Too much aspartate or glutamate in the brain kills certain neurons by allowing the influx of too much calcium into the cells. This influx triggers excessive amounts of free radicals, which kill the cells. The neural cell damage that can be caused by excessive aspartate and glutamate is why they are referred to as "excitotoxins." They "excite" or stimulate the neural cells to death. Aspartate is a principal ingredient in the maligned Aspartame sweetener."
He also says, in comparing mag glycinate with taurate,
"Very interestingly, taurine and glycine exist in the presence of a time- and dose-dependent exchange mechanism. After administering glycine to rats, researchers discovered that it produced a notable suppression of hepatic taurine content in the liver. Yet, this taurine decrease was not found in other taurine-rich organs such as the brain, heart or kidney. The mechanism for hepatic concentration of these two amino acids serves to alter liver concentrations of these amino acids without adversely affecting the rest of the body. The significance of this is very high, because as glycine goes up and taurine goes down in the liver, bile production is impaired and intestinal absorption of magnesium becomes greatly impaired, helping to explain why diarrhea resulting from magnesium taurate is essentially non-existant. In some people sensitive to this reaction, magnesium glycinate would be contraindicated, while magnesium taurate would be very helpful."
If I could afford it, I would be trying magnesium taurate. The Vitamin Shoppe also has a decent price on that.
My experience is that I like Carlson's Magnesium Glycinate. Mg citrate is harder for me to use in higher doses without diarrhea. Magnesium malate feels pretty good too (and is supposed to be especially helpful to those with fibromyalgia).
> Slinky, that is a very encouraging post. To know that magnesium competes for receptors with neurontin. I've been on the search for a magnesium supplement, but so far have just found magnesium oxide, which Larry says is not the best form.
>
> Thanks!
poster:JLx
thread:272898
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20031023/msgs/273734.html